Adjustable gaging device for saws



Aug- 9, 1955 G. J. PETERSON 2,714,906

ADJUSTABLE GAGING DEVICE FOR SAWS Filed NOV. 26, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet lzum . .Hu N

CHT-ro msy/ Aug. 9, 1955 G. J. PETERSON ADJUSTABLE GAGING DEVICE FORSAWS Filed Nov. 26, 1951 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 LLJJ TTORNEbn/ Aug. 9, 1955 G.J. PETERSON ADJUSTABLE GAGING DEVICE FOR SAWS Filed Nov. 26, 1951 4Sheets-Sheet 3 CA-rvomlvnyw llg- 9, 1955 G. J. PETERSON 2,714,906

ADJUSTABLE GAGING DEVICE FOR SAWS Filed NOV. 26, 1951 l 4SheetS--Shl-erl 4 @17 CMM, (1t/lab United States Patent patented Aug. 9,1355 2,714,306 ADJUSTABLE GAGING DEVICE FOR SAWS Gustaf I. Peterson,Rockford, Ill., assigner to Mattison lviachine Works, Rockford, ill., acorporation of Iilinois Application November 26, 1951, Serial No.258,159 6 Claims. (Cl. 143-174) This invention relates to a manuallycontrollable power actuated device to be used with a sawing machine tolocate the saw and work guide of the machine relative to each other andcontrol the width to which a workpiece is cut.

One object is to provide a fluid pressure actuated posilioning mechanismembodying a novel and compact arrangement of pistons and cylinders whichcoact in different combinations to locate the saw and the Work guiderelative to each other selectively in a plurality of positions.

Another object is to provide a gage actuating mechanisrn 'in which aplurality of pistons and cylinders cooperate to vary the relativeposition of the saw andthework guide in a series of increments and coactwith a differential mechanism to vary the position in fractions of thesmallest of such increments.

A further object is to provide a new and improved device of the abovecharacter in which the relative position of the saw and work guide maybe preselected during the sawing of one workpiece but will not beeffective until such workpiece passes out of engagement with the saw.

Still another object is to provide such a positioning deviceincorporating a novel selecting system in which the control by aprevious selection is'broken at the same time that a new relativeposition of the saw and work guide is selected.

A further object is to provide a novel gage actuating mechanism which,by normally urging the work guide toward a retracted position, willautomatically move the guide to a safe position in the event there is afailure of the power supplied to the controls of the actuator.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent fromthe following detailed description taken in connection with theaccompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective View of a sawing machine embodying the novelfeatures of this invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective View of a portion of the mechanismused to position the saw guide.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View of the actuating mechanism for positioningthe guide.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View taken along lines 4 4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic view of the actuating mechanism shown in Fig.3.

Fig. 6 is a chart showing the positions to which the saw guide ismovable.

Fig. 7 is a wiring diagram of the control mechanism.

For purposes of illustration, the invention is shown in the drawingsincorporated in a power driven sawing machine for cutting boards toselectively variable widths determined by the lateral spacing of a guide10 from the plane of the saw 11. The board 12 to be sawed is placed on atable 13 against the guide and slid endwise into engagement with the sawwhereupon it is gripped between a traveling feed belt 14 and the usualpressure Cil 2 roller which assume control of the board and feed thesame straight past the saw.

Herein, the board width is varied by lateral adjustment of the guide 19which comprises an elongated bar fixed to the ends of rods 15 slidablein guide blocks 16 on a lateral extension 17 of the table i3. Through acrossbar 18 rigidly connecting the rods 15' and a lug 19 dependingthrough a slot 20 in the table extension 17, the guide 10 is adapted tobe shifted to different positions by an actuating mechanism indicatedgenerally at 21 and selectively adjustable to position the guidedifferent predetermined distances, preferably in quarter inch incrementsfrom the plane of the saw.

The actuating mechanism comprises a plurality of driving elements 22 to2e having individual reversible power actuators which may be energizedin different combinations to shift the guide to any desired one of theavailable positions. Herein, the actuators comprise pistons 27 to 31secured to one end of each rod 22 to 26 and respectively sliding incylinders 32 to 36 formed in a bodily floating carriage 37.

To minimize the over-all length of the actuating mechanisrn 21 and alsothe number of cylinders required in order to produce a given number ofpositions of the guide iti, the cylinders are made of different lengthsand arranged end to end in the carriage 37 in two rows 32 and 33 and31E, 35, and 36 disposed side by side. While only one piston in each rowcan be effective at a time, any of the pistons may be moved singly orthe movements of one piston from each row may be added together tolocate the guide 1th. Therefore, the pistons can cooperate in differentcombinations whereby the number of positions of the guide considerablyexceeds the number of cylinders.

In one row, the pistons 29, 30 and 31 are fast on the ends of the rods24, 25 and 26 adjacent the guide 10 while in the other row, the pistons27 and 28 are on the opposite ends of the rods 22 and 23 and remote fromthe guide. In the case of both rows, the adjacent cylinder endscommunicate with each other through passages 38 through which the freeend of the rod in one cylinder extends into abutment with the piston endof the rod in the adjacent cylinder, the adjacent rod ends beingseparabie from each other. By virtue of the connecting passages 38, itwill be apparent that the admission of pressure fluid to the head end ofone cylinder also results in the application of an equal unit pressureto the rod end of the adjacent cylinder thus urging the piston in thelatter toward the head end of its cylinder. This piston is thusmaintained in a definite position until uid at the same pressure isapplied to the larger area on the head end of the piston.

To enable the actuating mechanism 21 to shift the guide in one inchincrements by selective energization of the piston actuators indifferent combinations, the cylinders 32, 33, 34, 35 and 36 are sized topermit movement of their pistons through 9, 6, 4, 3 and 2 inchesrespectively.

The terminal rod 22 of one row projects through a stuffing box in theend of the carriage 37 and is connected at its outer end to the iug 19and therefore to the guide bar 10. The rod 24 at the opposite end of theother row projects through the end of the cylinder 34 and from the endof the carriage 37 where it is connected to and supported by anauxiliary power actuator 39 adapted to be energized selectively to shiftthe guide 1@ in fractions, for example quarter inches, of the incrementsproduced by the main actuating mechanism 21.

The actuator 39 comprises an equalizing bar 49 pivotally connected atits center 4i to the projecting end of the piston rod 24 and at oppositeends to rods 42 and 43 carrying pistons 44 and 45 which are slidable incylinders 46 and 47 stationarily anchored at 48 to the under side of theframe extension 17. By sizing the cylinders 46 and 47 to provide formovement of the rods 42 and 43 through 1/2 inch and 1 inch respectively,the pivot 41 and the carriage 37 connected thereto may, by admittingpressure fluid to the four ends of the cylinders i6 and i7 in differentcornbinations, be shifted in quarter inch increments through a range ofone inch.

Pressure uid, preferably compressed air, from a suitable source (notshown) is supplied continuously to the rod ends of the cylinders 32 and34 through pressure lines 50 and 51 thus urging the pistons 27 and 29 tothe head end of these cylinders. Because of the abutting relation of thepistons and rods in each of the rows of cylinders, all of the pistons 27to 31 will be shifted to the head ends of their respective cylinders asshown in Fig. until pressure fluid admitted to the head ends of thecylinders 32 to 36 acts upon the larger area of the head end of thepistons. Similarly, the rod ends of the cylinders 46 and 47 arecontinuously connected through lines 52 and 53 to the pressure sourcethus urging the pistons 44 and 45 to li the head ends of theircylinders.

To slide the Various pistons 27 to 31, 44 and 45 to the rod ends oftheir cylinders, thereby positioning the guide 10, a plurality ofsolenoid valves SV in a line 54 from the pressure source direct fluid tothe head ends of the t cylinders 32 to 36, 46 and 47 there being a valvefor each cylinder identified in the drawings according to the length ofthe stroke of the piston which it activates. For example, the valveadmitting uid pressure to the cylinder 32, the piston 27 of which has a9 inch stroke, is designated SV9. An inlet 5S of each valve SV admitsfluid pressure from the line 54 while one outlet 56 communicates withthe head end of the cylinder associated with the valve and anotheroutlet 57 returns the iiuid to the exhaust line 58. To control theoutlet through which the pressure fluid will be transmitted, a valvemember 59 is biased by a spring 60 to close the outlet 56 leading to thecylinder and opens the outlet 57 to the exhaust line 58 while a solenoid61 when energized overcomes the force of the spring 60 to open theoutlet 56 thus moving the piston to the rod end of its cylinder.

When the solenoids of all of the valves are de-energized, all of thepiston rods will be moved to an inactive position (Fig. 5) in which theguide 111 is retracted a maximum distance, shown here as 14 inches, fromthe plane of the saw. Should there be an electrical power failure in theenergizing circuit of the solenoid valves, the guide will beautomatically moved away from, rather than toward, the saw 11 andthereby retracted to a safe position.

The chart of Fig. 6 shows some of the positions of the guide 10 whichare obtainable with the combination of cylinders of the lengthsillustrated. VIn this connection, it will be observed that each pistonrod moves the guide 10 toward the saw 11 a distance corresponding to thestroke, or half the stroke in the case of the rods 42 and 43, of itsassociated piston. To determine the location of the guide relative tothe saw, therefore, it is necessary to subtract the length of the strokefrom the maximum position. Hence, to locate the guide 5 inches from thesaw 11, solenoid valves SV6 and SV 3 will be energized since thecombined strokes of pistons 28 and 30 is 9 inches which, subtracted from14 inches, leaves the desired distance of 5 inches. Similarly, byenergizing valves SV9, SV3 and SV1, the guide 10 will be located 121/2inches from its fourteen inch position and 11/2 inches from the saw 11.Many other positions of the guide 10 are possible, those shown in thechart producing the more conventional widths to which boards are cut.

Selective energization of the valve solenoids is effected by a controlmechanism 62 which includes Stop and Start push buttons 63 and 64 tocontrol switches 65 and 66 connected across power lines 67 and 68through a relay 69. When the push button 64 is depressed to close theswitch 66, the relay 69 closes the contacts 70 of the saw motor 71 aswell as completing its own holding circuit through a switch 72.Depressing the push button 63 opens the switch and breaks the holdingcircuit, thus deenergizing the relay 69 and opening the contacts 70 tostop the motor 71.

To energize the valves SV in different combinations, a plurality ofrelays 73 to 84 complete the circuits to the solenoids of the valves,the relay 73, for example, closing switches 73b and 73c to energizevalves SV4 and SV9. Thus each of the relays 73 to 84 and its associatedswitches form a control unit to actuate a different combination ofvalves SV thus locating the guide 10 in one of its positions. In orderthat the relays 73 to 84 may be energized selectively, a plurality ofmanually operable selectors, or push buttons to 96, one for each relay,

control the circuits to the relays by opening and closing threeswitches, such as the switches 97, 98 and 99 operated by the push button85. Because the switches 97, 98 and 99 are connected to the power line67 through the Stop and Start switches 65 and 66, none of the pushbuttons 85 to 96 will be effective to energize the relays 73 to 84 untilthe saw motor 71 is running.

Since the switch 97 is in the line 100 to another relay 101, depressingone of the push buttons, such as the push button 85 which is describedas an example, will initially open this switch to deenergize the relay101 which breaks the circuit to the relays 73 to 84 through its switch102, thus inactivating all of the valves SV and retracting the guide 10to its 14 inch position. With this arrangement, an additional selector103 opening and closing just one switch 104 in the line 100 to the relay161 may be employed to locate the guide 14 inches from the plane of thesaw 11.

Further depression of the push button 8S results in the switch 99 beingclosed thus completing a circuit to a timing relay 105 through a line106 which in turn closes a switch 107. Thus, an independent circuit tothe relay 101 is completed through a line 108 and the switch 107, theswitch 102 then being closed by the relay 101 to close the circuit tothe relays 73 to 84. At the same time, the switch 98 is closed bydepression of the push button 8S to energize the relay 73 thus closingthe switches 73b and 73c in the circuits of the valves SV4 and SV9. Withthe relay 73 energized, a holding circuit through the switch 102 of therelay 101 and a switch 73a closed by the relay 73 is closed to maintainthe valves SVli and SV9 actuated after the push button 8S has beenreleased. After a short interval, for example, two or three seconds, therelay 105 opens the switch 107 breaking the independent circuit to therelay 101. During this time, the push button 85 must be released toagain close the switch 97 which, since the switch 109 is closed by therelay 101, completes the circuit to the relay 101 through the line 100.The circuits controlled by the other push buttons 86 to 96 are similarto that of the push button 85, the only diiference being in thecombination of valves SV which are actuated.

Means is also provided to sense the presence and absence of a board infront of the guide 10 and to activate the control mechanism so that thelatter moves the guide to a new position according to a previously madeselection after a board being cut has passed out of the path ofreciprocation of the guide. Herein this means comprises an element 110which is positioned adjacent the saw 11 (Fig. 1) and is lifted by aboard being cut to close one set of contacts 111 of a double-throwswitch 112 thus completing a circuit through a line 113 and the switch112 to another timing relay 114. The switch 115 of the relay 114 isclosed instantaneously to permit the coil 116 of a double coil relay 117to be energized when the line 106 is completed by closing one of thelower push button switches, such as 99. When the coil 116 of the relay117 is energized, a switch 118 in the circuit to the coil 116 is opened,but a core (not shown) within the coil 116 retains a permanent magneteffect and holds the armature 119 of the relay 117 to the right, asviewed in Fig. 7, with switches 118 and 121 open and the switch 120closed. The switch 121, being in the circuit of the switches of therelays 73 to S4, when opened prevents the actuation of the Valves SVeven though one of the relays 73 to 84 is energized.

When the board has passed out of the path of the guide 10, the sensingelement 110 drops by gravity thus closing the other set of contacts 122of the switch 112 and a circuit to the other coil 123 of the relay 117is completed, the switch 120 being held closed by the core of the coil116. Although the switch 112 now opens the circuit to the timing relay114, this relay delays the opening of the switch 115 so that the coil123 of the relay 117 may be energized to shift the armature 119 to theleft, thus closing the switches 118 and 121 and opening the switch 120.

A switch 124 in the circuit to the switches of the relays 73 to 84 isclosed when the timing relay 114 is not energized and remains closed forthe period of time necessary for the longest board to travel through thesaw 11 by virtue of the time delaying nature of the relay 114 althoughthe latter be energized by the closing of the contacts 111. When therelay 114 is deenergized, however, the switch 124 closesinstantaneously.

Operation The operator starts the saw motor 71 running by pushing thebutton 64 and then selects a board and examines it to determine to whichwidth it should be cut. Assuming that a l inch width is decided upon,the push button 85 is depressed closing the switch 99 thereby completingthe energizing circuit of the timing relay 105. With the timing relay105 energized, the independent circuit through the line S and the switch107 energizes the relay 101 thus closing the switch 102 in the circuitof the relays 73 to 84. At the same time, the switch 98 is closedenergizing the relay 73 and closing the switches 73lo and 73 to actuatethe valves SV4 and SV9. Since the holding circuit for the relay 73 isclosed through the switch 73a, this relay remains energized when thepush button is released. Although the timing relay is deenergized withina few seconds thus opening the switch 107 in the independent circuit forthe relay 101, the push button 85 will have been released completing thecircuit through the line 100 to the relay 101 which is sealed by theswitch 109.

With the valves SV4 and SV9 opened, pressure Huid is admitted to thehead ends of cylinders 34 and 32 and, since the areas of the head endsof the pistons 29 and 27 are greater than the areas of the rod ends, thepressure thus applied overcomes the opposing pressure on the rod ends ofthe pistons. Since the piston rod 24 is held by the equalizing bar 40,the carriage 37 and the cylinder 34 slide relative to the tableextension 17 moving the guide 10, 4 inches toward the plane of the saw11. The piston 27 and its rod 22 are free and, as this piston slides tothe rod end of the cylinder 32, the guide is moved an additional 9inches toward the saw 11 thus locating the guide the desired 1 inch fromthe saw.

The board to be sawed is placed on the table 13 with one edge lyingalong and against the guide 10 and then moved into engagement with thesaw 11 where the belt 14 and the pressure roll grip and feed it throughthe saw. While the first board is being cut, the operator examines thenext board to decide the width to which it should be cut. Assuming thatthis is to be 1% inches, the push button 86 is depressed which instantlyopens the switch 125 in the line 100 to the relay 101 deenergizing thisrelay and opening the switch 102. Thus, the relay 73 is deenergizedopening the switches 73b and 73C to the valves SV4 and SV9 with theresult that the liuid pressure in the lines 50 and 51 slides the pistons27 and 29 to the rod ends of the cylinders 32 and 34 since pressure isno longer admitted to the head ends of these cylinders. Although theguide guide 10, 2 inches from the saw 11.

10 is thereby retracted to its 14 inch position, the saw' 11 continuesto cut the rst board 1 inch because the belt 14 and the pressure rollershold the board on a straight path.

Depression of the push button 86 also closes a switch 127 againenergizing the timing relay 10S to complete the independent circuit tothe relay 101 thus closing the switch 102 in the circuit of the relay 74which, at the same time, is energized by the closing of the switch 126.The switches 74h, 74, 74d and 74e in the circuits or" the valves SV 1/2,SVl, SV3, and SV9 are thus closed and held in that position by virtue ofthe switch 74a in the holding circuit of the relay 74. Since the saw 11is still engaging the first board, the sensing element will be in itsupper position closing the contacts 111 of the switch 112 to energizethe timing relay 114. With the switch 115 of the timing relay 114closed, the coil 116 of the double coil relay 117 is energized shiftingthe armature 119 to the right and opening the switch 121 in the circuitof the valves SV. Although the switches 74h, 74, 74d and 74e are closed,therefore, the new combination of valves will not yet be actuated.

As soon as the first board has passed out of the path of the guide 10,the sensing element 110 drops to close the contacts 122 thus energizingthe coil 123 ot the relay 117 and shifting the armature 119 to the lett.The switch 121 is thereby closed completing the circuit to the valvesSVI/z, SVI, SV3 and SV9. The valves SVS and SV9 admit fluid pressure tothe head ends of cylinders 35 and 32 sliding the carriage 37 and movingthe guide 10 in a manner similar to that in which the l inch position ofthe guide was obtained. in this case, however, the pistons 3i) and 27locate the Since the valves SVlz and SV1 admit fluid pressure to thehead ends of cylinders 46 and 47, overcoming the eifect of the pressurein the rod ends supplied by lines 52 and 53, the rod 42 moves 1/2 inchandthe rod 43 moves 1 inch. The equalizing bar 40, therefore, actingthrough the rod 24 slides the carriage 37 and the guide 10 an additional3A of an inch bringing the guide to the 1% inch location with respect tothe saw 11. The second board is then placed on the table 13 against theguide 10 and fed into the saw 11.

During the entire operation, the switch 124 is closed, but, should nonew board be supplied to the saw, the timing relay 114 will eventuallyopen the switch'124 which is also in the circuit of the valves SV. Theguide 10, therefore, will always be left in its retracted position afterthe last board has been cut. n

it will be apparent that the saw guide as above described is easy ofoperation and requires a minimum of the operators attention. Once aboard is engaged by the saw 11, he may turn to the next piece todetermine the size to which it can be cut. As soon as it is decided whatthe next size will be, the operator may depress the appropriate pushbutton whether the previous out has been completed or not. Eachsucceeding board,l therefore, may be fed to the machine as soon as thepreceding board disengages the sensing element 110. No time is lostbetween cuts in setting the guide to a new position since the guidesetting for the next board is preselected during the sawing of one boardand then made automatically immediately after a board has passed out ofthe path ot' the guide 10. In addition, by arranging the cylinders 32 to36 in two rows on a slidable carriage, which is also moved in fractionsof increments by the pistons 44 and 45 and the equalizing bar 40, a widevariety ot' positions may be obtained while keeping the size of thepositioning mechanism within reasonable limits. T he mechanism may thusbe applied as an attach ment to most conventional sawing machines.Further, the guide 10 will always retract to a safe position in theevent of an electrical failure since the valves SV afm/goce are biasedby the spring 60 to shut olf the pressure supply to the head ends of thecylinders 32 to 36, 46 and 47, thereby permitting the pressure in thelines 50, 51, 53 and 54 to force the pistons 27 to 3l, 44 and 45 to therod ends of the cylinders.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a machine for sawing workpieces to different widths, thecombination of, a member movable transversely of the path of the feed ofthe workpiece through the saw to locate the saw and the work guide ofsaid machine relative to each other in different transverse positions, aplurality of power driven actuating elements each movable between twopositions and coacting together in different combinations to locate saidmember selectively in different positions, an actuator for each of saidelements, a plurality of manually operable selectors, a controlmechanism conditioned difierentially in response to the actuation of theindividual selectors and operable to activate said actuators incombinations corre sponding to the actuated selector, an elementresponsive to the position of a workpiece being cut and movable betweenfirst and second positions to sense respectively the presence andabsence of the workpiece in front of the guide, mechanism actuated bysaid sensing element in its tirst position and operable to maintain saidcontrol mechanism inactive while the workpiece is engaging the saw, andmeans actuated by said sensing element in its second position andoperable to render said control mechanism as conditioned by apreselected one of said selectors effectual to activate a correspondingcombination of said actuators to thereby position said member inaccordance with a selected condition of said control mechanism.

2. In a machine for sawing workpieces to different Widths, thecombination of, a member movable transversely of the path of feed of theworkpiece through the saw to locate the saw and the work guide of saidmachine relative to each other in different transverse positions, aplurality of power driven actuating elements each movable between twopositions and coacting together in different combinations to locate saidmember selectively in different positions, an actuator for each of saidelements, a plurality of manually operable selectors, a plurality ofsets of control devices, one for each of said selectors, operable whenrendered active to energize said actuators in different combinations, anelement responsive to the position of a workpiece being cut and movablebetween first and second positions to sense respectively the presenceand absence of the workpiece in front of the guide, mechanism actuatedby said sensing element in its lirst position and operable to maintainsaid control devices inactive while the workpiece is engaging the saw,and means actuated by said sensing element in its second position andoperable to render the selected set of control devices effectual toenergize their associated actuators to thereby position said member inaccordance with a preselected set of said devices.

3` In a machine for sawing workpieces to different widths, thecombination of, a member movable transversely of the path of feed of theworkpiece through the saw to locate the saw and the work guide of saidmachine relative to each other in different transverse positions, aplurality of power driven actuating elements each movable between twopositions and coacting together in different combinations to locate saidmember selectively in different positions, a uid pressure operatedactuator for each of said actuating elements, a source of fluidpressure, a solenoid actuated valve for each of said actuators forconnecting the latter to said source, a plurality of manually operableselectors. a plurality of sets of control devices. one for each of saidselectors, operable when rendered active to energize said solenoidvalves in different combinations, an element responsive to the positionof a workpiece being cut and movable between first and second positionsto sense respectively the presence and absence of the workpiece in frontof the guide, mechanism actuated by said sensing element in its firstposition and operable to maintain said control devices inactive whilethe workpiece is engaging the saw, and means actuated by said sensingelement in its second position and operable to render the selected setof control devices effectual to energize their associated solenoidvalves to thereby position said member in accordance with a preselectedset of said devices.

4. In a machine for sawing workpieces to different widths, thecombination of, a carriage slidable along a predetermined path, a firstset of cylinders mounted end to end on said carriage and forming a firstrow paralleling said path, a second set of cylinders mounted end to endon said carriage and forming a second row paralleling and disposedalongside said rst row, said cylinders being of different lengths,pistons, one in each of said cylinders and each having a rod projectingfrom one end of the piston toward the adjacent piston to abut thelatter, one terminal rod in each row projecting beyond said carriage, amember mounted on the terminal rod of said first row and movabletherewith to locate the saw and the work guide of said machine relativeto each other in diferent positions, means to admit iuid pressure toselected cylinders in said first row thereby to move said member apredetermined distance relative to said carriage, stationary meansconnected to the terminal rod of said second row, and means to admittiuid pressure to selected cylinders in said second row thereby to movesaid carriage and said member bodily together a predetermined distancealong said path.

5. In a machine for sawing workpieces to different widths, thecombination of, a member movable transversely of the path of feed of theworkpiece through the saw to locate the saw and the work guide of saidmachine relative to each other in diierent transverse positions, anequalizing bar, a carriage slidable along a predetermined path, aplurality of cylinders of different lengths supported by said carriageand paralleling said predetermined path, a plurality of pistons, one foreach of said cylinders, means interconnecting said carriage and saidpistons and providing a floating connection of varying length joiningsaid member and the intermediate part of said bar, said bar beingpivoted to said connection, means for admitting fluid pressure toopposite ends of said cylinders selectively to shift a piston andcylinder relative to each other in different combinations to therebyadjust the length of said connection in increments, a power actuatorconnected to one end of said bar and movably maintaining said end in oneposition, said actuator when energized moving said bar end apredetermined distance to a second position, a second power actuatorconnected to the other end of said bar and maintaining said other end inone position, said second actuator when energized moving said other barend a predetermined distance less than said first mentioned distance toa second position thereby to slide said carriage and move bodilytherewith said cylinders, said pistons and said member in fractions ofincrements by selectively energizing said actuators in differentcombinations.

6. In a machine for sawing workpieces to different widths, thecombination of, a member movable transversely of the path of feed of theworkpiece through the saw to locate the saw and the work guide of saidmachine relative to each other in different transverse positions, amovable element spaced from said member, a carriage disposed betweensaid member and said element and slidable along a predetermined path, aplurality of cylinders of different lengths supported by said carriageand generally paralleling said predetermined path, a plurality ofpistons, one for each of said cylinders, said carriage, said cylindersand said pistons providing a floating connection of varying lengthjoining said member and said element, means for admitting huid pressureto opposite ends of said cylinders selectively to shift a piston and acylinder relative to each other in different combinations to therebyadjust the length of said connection in increments, and means connectedto said element and operable to move said element thereby to slide saidcarriage and move bodily therewith said cylinders, said pistons and saidmember in fractions of increments. 5

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 585,649Brinkman July 6, 1897 10 1 Linderman Sept. 16, Ferrier July 26, MartinNov. 10, Josephs Sept. 11, Ashley Jan. 8, Schenck Mar. 10, Haller Mar.26, Peters May 16, Herman Nov. 21,

